Bluish flame combusted like a nova around its skeletal body. His Sootroot arrow consumed and burned to ashes in scorching disintegration.

  Not wasting any movement, it aimed and drew at Suna—volleying him with bluish flame arrows. With Heat Sense, he could sense that these projectile were much weaker than the ones he had been firing. And it was perhaps the right decision, as Suna had now decided to use his mobility to dodge instead of staying in one place.

  Suna kicked the air and launched himself down below with a blue arrow following him. They streaked across the ground he had just landed on. Suna rolled forward and sprang sideways, running in a crescent and closing himself to the Pyrebone Archer.

  He resummoned his Bow of Wind and began to fire his normal arrows, nocking it and releasing them. His string thrummed and was caught by another arrow over and over again. Six arrows launched at the Pyrebone, it propelled itself sideways, dodging Suna’s shots.

  Suna kept running as more arrows peppered just one step behind him. He tapped his leg and used Archer Backstep. To his disappointment, his enhanced Sootroot arrow was the one pulled to his ear instead of his spell arrow. In itself, it was not bad; it's not like the Sootroot arrow is any less powerful. But for the sake of his class improvement, he should get his brain used to spell arrows more.

  Vines tangled like the feather of a fletching, flapping at the end of the arrow. Suna's eyes went to it, and he cast Flint Draw. Flame began to burst around the arrow. His eyes widened as the enchantment and the vine properties died, replaced by just fire. Suna discharged it, and the skeleton merely batted away his arrow with a whack of its bluish bow.

  So it was not compatible.

  He clicked his tongue and drew another Sootwood arrow, letting it loose. Two of them. Suna then began to dash to his left as the blue arrow blitzed through both of his arrows, he narrowly veered from its direction and was saved. He kept running, opening his right palm to summon five Sootwood arrows.

  Suna tucked them into his Grave Vine Quiver, but that slight pause earned him an arrow in his left shoulder. It was like someone threw a rock in his face. His shoulder seared in pain, but his chainmail was able to nullify most of the damage, with Heat Sense, and his brimhat Suna banished the flame away. This arrow was a weak one, the type meant to be fired in a hurry to catch him at his speed.

  Another arrow followed, this one much stronger. He tapped his foot and propelled himself. Summoning a Mana Arrow, Suna Flint Draw it and let it ram forward into the skeleton.

  Blue light zipped, and the skeleton managed to fire another flaming arrow in time. Both arrows crashed into each other, and a slight quiver of power rumbled through, pushing wind like a wave.

  Suna welcomed the ground, and he surged forward with Gale Step, pushing himself forward. The Pyrebone Archer, whose flame was blown back a bit by the wave, now gathered itself and shot at Suna.

  Archer Sense and Heat Sense both screamed at him, and Suna listened to them.

  He drew a sharp breath, eyes zeroing in on the upcoming bluish arrow. Its blue light shone as if he were charging into a star in a world of darkness. He could see how the heat would project over. Suna ducked, and the arrow went above him. With his brimhat, he pushed away the bluish flame from harming him, and the arrow zipped past.

  Now he was much closer, Suna switched his Bow of Wind to his right hand, leaving his left free—building an air pocket on his left palm.

  Another arrow was coming. Flame cascaded into one point, and was launched at him in a fiery sizzle.

  Suna pressed his palm to the left and the force of wind pivoted him to his right, taking him away from the fire trajectory.

  The Pyrebone Archer propelled itself back and began drawing. But too late, Suna had already manifested a flaming arrow, and Flint drew it back. Both of them were released at the same time. When they met, an explosion of fire reverberated and filled the air between them with hot, searing air. He coughed, and the flame sent out a wave of wind that almost tipped his brimhat over, which was dangerous since his hat was the key to this move.

  Suna charged forward. What was it again? His brimhat’s description?

  Some crazy witch that danced across a volcano? Suna wondered, why didn’t she just bloody run like he did?

  Heat Sense told him which flame to banish, and Suna's eyes shone, parting the flame.

  Gale Step coalesced in his feet, and with Umbralline, he burst forward straight at the Pyrebone Archer whose flame was still unruly from their earlier exchange.

  Its hand moved, and it was fast, almost unfairly so.

  In one smooth motion, the skeleton had already drawn another bluish flame arrow, and the flame had already begun to gather.

  Suna lunged in, his sword tip reaching just before the Pyrebone released it.

  He roared and warded off the arrow, sending a blue shaft spinning through the air.

  Now with nothing to launch, the Pyrebone tried to create distance again. But Suna pushed himself farther with Gale Step. His outstretched sword plunged into the Pyrebone Archer’s ribcage. Umbralline met bone, and the bone cracked, sending splinters off.

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  The small explosion caused Suna to recoil. He chopped down at the skeleton, but then it moved. Its blue flaming bow caught Umbralline's strike, halting it.

  Suna gritted, refusing to accept the clash. He closed in and brought his sword up and cleaved it down again. The Pyrebone welcomed his attack with its bow. The moment they clashed again, Umbralline carved the bow into two. But it's just a spell bow, which can be summoned again. So Suna would not waste this chance.

  His sword flowed into an upward swing. But a mad, blazing flame burst like a burning inferno. Blue flame jumped to Suna—his eyes shone, and he willed it away. The flame flickered, but ultimately it stormed at him. Heat Sense rushed to his brain, and Suna zoomed back with Archer's Backstep.

  He drew a Flaming arrow—and Flint drew it, but a bluish arrow was already released, lodging in his hip. Pain blared, and Suna let out a gasp. His own arrow began to lose power, so Suna released it in a hurry. It still retained so much force that it clashed again with a new blue flame, making another explosion, which was convenient for him.

  Suna's hand immediately went to his pocket and opened a health vial. He quickly doused it and banished the bluish flame around his hip with air pocked and his brimhat flame control. Then Suna wrenched the arrow from his hip. He screamed, but didn’t stop drinking the potion. He opened another one and quickly consumed it too.

  Two arrows flew at him, and he scurried into a roll and let out another Mana Arrow this time. He Flint Drew the blue arrow. This was his best arrow on pure force. His Flint Flame Arrow was much more useful for a pinpoint target. But if he wanted to break a tough defense, then this blue arrow was the answer. Fire crept in, and Suna released it, pushing the flame around him in pure force.

  His arrow rushed through one bluish arrow, zipping to another. Suna drew another Mana arrow, expecting his flying arrow would be stopped by the second one. But instead, it cut through and made it to the Pyrebone, who just burned away his Mana arrow.

  He was sure the previous engagement was equal. Did the Pyrebone use less Mana on purpose? Was it running out? The flame around it was still blazing strong, though…

  Maybe if he kept going…

  3500/7800

  Well, not that Suna had the healthiest Mana either. Should he back away to refill his Mana? But the Pyrebone might have a method to refill its own Mana pool, and in all honesty… Suna was willing to trade his entire mana pool for zero if he did not have to deal with that flame shield.

  A plan conceived in him. His training with James should allow him to do this much. Suna bolted to his side. He let go of his spell bow and used the Marrow bow instead. This bow was created to free the undead soul with each arrow, so it obviously can work, but Suna just did not know how well compared to his Bow of Wind.

  The moment he drew a normal arrow, however, the Pyrebone’s void eyes, with a blue dot, widened, like it recognized this bow was its very bane. The Pyrebone began to fire a bluish arrow–made in haste. Suna smiled and kept running; the more those arrows thudded to the ground beneath, the more it sounded like music to his ears. He sprinted, and hailing the Pyrebone with a normal arrow, not Sootroot, not even from his magic quiver.

  A dozen arrows rushed at it as his hand thrummed in all familiar sensation.

  It propelled itself to dodge and use flame to burn away those arrows quickly; Suna noticed that, as time went on—it did not fuel more flame, that flame shield had gotten weaker—so it was also running out of mana.

  Suna scurried around it in a circle and he kept peppering the skeleton with normal arrows—each burned into ashes.

  Flame burst at him, and Suna almost tripped at the sudden magic spell; he skidded around in a quick tapping jump, dodging the surprise skill. But such a skill obviously uses its flame shield. He smiled. That smells like desperation.

  Suna's hand went to his normal quiver—five arrows left—and Suna did not hesitate to fire them away in less than two seconds. Each burned away, and the Pyrebone kept shooting flaming arrows, to which Suna dodged with his Heat Sense.

  The Pyrebone’s flame has waned; it was no longer burning bright, and its blue fire has started to morph into a red one.

  So Suna used Archer Backstep; his Marrow bow went across his shoulder, and in his hand was his Bow of Wind. He Flint Drew a Flame Arrow. A tail of flame whisked as a fletching, smoldering ignition gathered at his fingertip.

  To its credit, the Pyrebone Archer did not attempt to run. It stood its ground. Bluish flame coalesced to its own body, perhaps it still had a trick?

  Suna released his arrow in a sizzling whisk. Their arrows slammed into each other, and Suna’s tailed arrow won out. It burst into the skeleton, but was held by its flaming shield; however, it cannot stop it fully. The arrow connected to one of the skeleton ribs, then deflected away.

  He Flint Drew a Mana Arrow this time, wind coalesced into this arrow, and flame added onto it. The Pyrebone had already let loose an arrow, but Suna stayed calm. He pushed more and more Mana. And his Spell String Mastery also responded by bringing flame and wind together, coalescing into one deadly spell arrow. A force he had never held before.

  1500/7800

  Suna breathed out a hot vapor. A bluish arrow was about to pierce him. He let loose, and the cave turned bright from a single ignition point that was his arrow. It blasted through the blue flame arrow, flying through and searing apart the Pyrebone Archer in a humming sizzle.

  [You Have Slain Pyrebone Archer. Lvl 45]

  [Level Up]

  [Level Up]

  [Level Up]

  [Level Up]

  [Level Up]

  [Feat Gained] [Slayer of the Superior (2)] – You have slain a superior archer in every way compared to you. Such a feat would require you to overcome tough odds. Dexterity + 300, Arcanery + 300.

  Name: Suna Amor

  Level: 32 → 37.

  Class: [Archer]

  Rune: 123

  Feat: 17

  Mana: 1500/7800 → 1500/12250

  Class Skill (13/15)

  - Archer Sense [Common]

  - Archer Backstep [Common]

  - Mana Arrow [Uncommon]

  - Moving Shot [Uncommon]

  - Flint Draw [Uncommon]

  - Arcane String [Uncommon]

  - Bow of Wind [Uncommon]

  - Spell String Mastery [Rare]

  - Hissing Volley [Rare]

  - Drill Arrow [Uncommon]

  - Still Form [Uncommon]

  - Flame Arrow [Uncommon]

  - Saproot Arrow [Rare]

  General Skill (10/15)

  - Quick Draw [Common]

  - Drowfication [Rare]

  - Rune Seeker [Uncommon]

  - Gale Step [Uncommon]

  - Air pocket [Common]

  - Heat Sense [Common]

  - Enchanced Sense [Uncommon]

  - Enduring Body [Uncommon]

  - Battle Focus [Common]

  - Eagle Eyes {Uncommon}

  Strength: 925 → 929 → 957

  Dexterity: 812 →815 → 1155

  Vitality: 655 → 659 → 689

  Arcanery: 725 → 780 → 1225

  Sense: 615 → 618 → 645

  [Equipment Rune]

  [Pendant of The Pyre Flame] [Mystic]